Illumina to Acquire Cancer Diagnostics Start-up Grail

Gene-sequencing giant Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN) confirmed last week's rumor that it's buying Grail, a start-up working on early detection of cancer using DNA analysis of blood samples, in a deal worth $8 billion. Grail was founded by Illumina in 2016, spun off as an independent company, and has raised $1.9 billion in four rounds of private equity. Grail had announced its intention to launch an initial public offering in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 9 but apparently felt Illumina's offer was better for its investors, which include Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Microsoft's co-founder Bill Gates.